Resident EVA: Night of a thousand Reis
by Kompi
Summary: After a particulary disturbing dream about the first child, Shinji finds himself unable to get it out of his head. Things doesn't exactly improve when NERV is attacked from the inside by something they never expected.


Resident EVA: Night of a thousand Reis  
An odd thing barely worth the word 'fanfiction' by some oddball called 'Kompi'  
--  
This is.. probably. .what would be refered to as a 'Derevative work' of an anime series known as 'Neon Genesis Evangelion' by the company 'Gainax'. Gainax owns all rights to their licenses, copyrights and such stuff.. and wether I or them own the specific rights for this derevative work I don't know. (Copyright laws are funny things.. uhm..)  
  
..On another note. I don't know crap about proper ratings.. So I'll simply say that this thing does contain nudity (though it's not very descriptive), violence, guns that shoot, blood, people dying, big 'robots' tearing bigger things appart, etc. If a rating applies, I'd be suprised if it's worse than the original series... If I've set the rating wrong then someone please enlighten me.  
  
..and before you even think it: NO, this IS NOT a crossover!  
  
..The idea for this thing came to me while I was thinking of another NGE fanfic project called "2 before 3", that's hidden away deep in the catacombs of my mind, which I hope to get somewhere in. (And it's a bit more serious and does have more of a solid ground to stand on than this peice). The basic concept has come to mind once before, but I had any plans to realize it then.. but I sort of just got that 'spark' this time..  
  
As for when this is supposed to happen I really have no idea. It's after Misato gets promoted to Major I gather, but before Asuka starts spiralling downwards into ruin.. In the middle somewhere.. Probably after the 12'th but before the 13'th. Angel that is.  
  
Anyway.. the idea in itself wasn't the grandest to begin with, and I don't really have the abilities to fully realize it either. That combined with what could be a pretty bad formatting doesn't exactly make it anything great.. Still.. I hope someone might find it interesting..  
  
...And I'd just like to mention that any simularity to any other NGE fanfic is, while possibly not coinidental, unintentional. Whenever I get some kind of inspiration (rarely) I try to catch it before it runs away, and it's possible I've accidentally 'borrowed' from other works. I appologize if this is the case.  
  
Happy reading. -_^  
  
-Kompi  
  
--  
  
The corridor had an odd floating feeling to it, there was almost a thin fog running through it. The silence rumbled like a mad drummer at a rock concert, and each of his footsteps almost seemed to echo with eerie acustic properties. Shinji decided it was all too much like some horror B-movie, except for him being there that is.  
"Hello?" he called out, his mind finding it suspicious how the walls bounced his call back at him in a mass of fragmented echoes. He slowly walked along the corridor, his sences on full alert for any kind of activity that didn't belong to him. He knew he was within NERV somewhere, but he couldn't really figure out where. Neither the locked doors nor the empty corridors offered any consolation; the only marker he could find was a bright red NERV logo at one of the walls. He kept on walking slowly - something was calling him.. there, at the end of the corrdior where it joined up with another in a T-intersection.  
"Shhiiinnjjjiiii" the wind - ...what wind? - whispered to him, almost lightly pushing him forward. Yet, there was something.. a tremor in the calm earth, a ripple in the pond.. he knew it wasn't safe to go on, but why he couldn't tell.  
A giggle caught his attention. It sounded like a young girl - filled with innosence and an odd kind of joy. He froze and looked towards the source: the end of the corridor. There was something about that giggle.. Something that made his mind almost scream out full alert and command his legs to send him towards a destination as far away from the source of the sound as possible, but he found himself unable to move. He squinted his eyes, trying to gain a better focus at the end of the corridor through the odd fogginess of the air.  
The giggle - again. This time a form peeked out from one of the passageways which the corridor met up with. The form was a head: a pale head covered with blue hair and with piercing red eyes.  
"Ayanami..?" Shinji called out, intently observing the first child as she peeked out from the corridor. There was something odd about her. Her eyes wasn't the the normal cold observing but rather looking.. happy.. and her mouth was drawn into an odd-looking smile. She giggled again and walked into full view.. or rather than walked, she seemed to stumble forward, almost like her will was walking ahead and dragging the body behind it. Somewhere his mind also noted that she wasn't wearing anything. He was torn - part of him wanted to relish in the fact that an undressed female seemed to be going towards him without screaming or calling him pervert, that she seemed even happy to see him. The other part however wanted to run away from all this: the foggy corridor, the naked girl slowly stumbling towards him with a freaky and out-of-character smile on her face... and there was something about the whole thing that inspired huge ammounts of fear into him. The end result was that he stood frozen, not moving neither forwards or backwards.  
Another giggle, this time much closer. From another corridor intersecting his another naked Rei Ayanami walked out, stumbling and smiling like the first.  
"Ayan.." he began, unconsiously taking a step back. Not only was she acting strangely, there was TWO of her!  
"..Ayanami..? .. What are you .. ?" he managed to say, backing away even more from the two girls advancing on him. He knew something was wrong for sure now, how else could there be two of her?  
A third appeared behind the first, and then a fourth snuck up from a corner even closer to him, all of them giving off occasional giggles to fit their wide smiles. As he backed away from them, he found himself almost colliding into a fifth standing behind him, her arms slowly trying to encircle him from behind. They felt cold.. even through his shirt he could feel it, some sort of dead cold like she was made of ice. He made a nervous shriek and jumped away from her, turning around and facing .. her.. as she approached him with that odd smile of hers.. reaching for him like she never wanted to let go.  
"..Ayan~NO! Stay away!" he yelled.. realizing he couldn't back away more than a few steps unless he wanted to walk straight into the others behind him. His mind desperately began to scream for him to run away - any way would do, just as long as he got out of there. He took off in an instant, navigating swiftly around the one he'd backed into.. .and stopped only a few meters away. From every passageway and corridor they came.. Ayanamis.. from everywhere. He desperately tired to find an exit as they advanced on him from all directions. The doors were firmly locked and didn't yield to his attempts. He could feel them now, touching his shoulders. As the girls grasped at him he felt their cold, like they tired to absorb his warmth at any cost. He did the only thing his paniced mind could think of - he screamed.  
  
--  
  
Shinji's rubbed his eyes and then shook his head. The dream still hung around his memory, vividly clear even if the day slowly crept towards evening. He remembered how he had woken up screaming, covered in cold sweat. His call of fright had awokened the other residents of the appartment too, because Misato had came running, wearing only the few peices she slept in which just barely covered enough to be called 'clothing', her face clearly showing the worry. She had clung to him, even though he had - albeight very shakingly - told her it was nothing but a bad dream. He had lied to her though - telling her that he didn't remember what the dream was about. Maybe he was just overreacting, but there was something about that dream that made him hesitate to say anything.  
Asuka had walked in a moment later, worry covering her face the few moments before their eyes met and she took on the 'typical Asuka' look and had asked what 'Idiot' was screaming about. After the word 'nightmare' was mentioned she had said something about 'childish' and walked out, but there had been something in her voice. Shinji wasn't sure..but it sounded like she'd been genuinely worried about him. The thought was.. strange. Asuka - the mighty second child - worried about little whimpy Shinji? It didn't make a whole lot of sense to him; of course, that night hadn't made much sense to him at all.. It had even creeped him out enough to try to avoid Ayanami as much as he could that day, not really sure why. It was just a dream, right?  
  
He shook his head again; he desperately wanted the dream out of his head. He looked around his surroundings - he was in another corridor of the huge NERV complex, sitting on a sort-of mix between a couch and a bench, placed along the wall for whatever reason. It wasn't too far away from the dressing rooms and offered a comfortable place to sit. The children had had another sync test this day - scheduled unusually late - and for some reason they had kept Asuka around for a longer time than they had him, so now he was sitting where he could keep a look of when she was finished. Misato had promised she'd drive them home that day, so he was supposed to wait for the second child to finish and then they'd go look the major up together. A watch on the wall opposite to him told him the clock was around 7pm already. He sighed. He didn't want to be alone right now.. Being alone meant his dream would visit him again, tugging at his consiousness and constantly trying to get his attention. He forcefully tried to shut it out of his mind. It was just a DREAM! There was no reason it'd affect him this way, was there?  
  
...And yet. The sight of hundreds of Rei Ayanamis.. all naked.. smiling.. and giggling.. slowly stumbling and reaching towards him. And the coldness of their touch.. like they were made of ice. The thought ran shivers through his spine. There had been something about that dream.. something that had touched him like nothing had before.. firmly anchoring itself into his sence of fear. He found himself glancing nervously around, silently wishing Asuka could hurry getting there.  
  
--  
  
Gendo Ikari slowly entered the dark room, his eyes carefully scanning the surroundings for any would-be observer. As none were found, he relaxed somewhat. They were getting to him, that was for certain. He could stand having Shinji around, he still looked different enough for Gendo to pretend he was an outsider.. but Rei. Rei was looking more and more like Yui as she grew, and seing her all the time.. especially how she grew ever so slightly more emotional around his son. It was tearing at the emotional walls he had built so long ago, and he was afraid that sooner or later they would burst - releasing all that was currently hidden safely behind them. He couldn't afford to do that. Not yet. His plans were slowly unfolding - the goal was getting more and more in reach; he couldn't afford to give it all up because of moments of weakness..  
So that was why he came here. To Reis' 'birthplace'.. where all the spare Reis' were kept. He had come here more and more often lately: he had to. It was the only way he could face her - only way he could convince himself that the fragile-looking albino girl was just a tool and not a pale incarnation of his late wife. He had loved Yui then and he would again, but for now he couldn't afford such feelings. They would interfer with his mission.  
As he turned on the lights his solemn and calm gaze was broken into a confused one. The light showed the remnants of LCL on the floor, most of it tried or condenced - only pools remained. Even worse was that the large 'container' surrounded by glass walls was empty; by the looks of things it seemed like a part of the wall has shattered. That would explain the LCL.. but it didn't explain the lack of bodies - the ones inside the tank were merly soulless shells, waiting to be filled with the spark of life. There should be alot of them lying around.  
There was also no reason for why the glass wall had broken. They were thick and solid, it should've taken quite some force to acomplish that. Walking over to to the slight remains of the shattered wall, he kneeled and observed the pecies of glass still stuck to the frame intently, considering his next move. Something was very wrong, and he had no idea what. If there had been bodies around he would've blamed the good Doctor Akagi - he knew very well of her resentment towards Rei. But this? Who could've transported all of those away without anyone noticing?  
He would have to discuss this matter with either the doctor or sub-commander Fuyutsuki; regardless of what it seemed like he did listen to what the older man had to say and did take it into consideration. It was just that he couldn't allow himself to show his inferiors that he had been wrong - he couldn't afford to be wrong in this matter. He needed to be swift, dealing the blow and then retreating to his safe place.. Until the final day.. when all would be rectified. When he would right the wrongs and repent his sins. He lived only for that one day now.  
A giggle interrupted his train of thought. A young and light one that semeed to have feathers and soothingly fly into his ears. One that spoke of joy and contentness.. It was very.. disturbing. A sudden realization came to him.. Things Doctor Akagi had informed him of during a period of her own weakness, where she had explained exactly what she felt about the bodies suspended in the now broken tank. An image came to his mind, and suddenly alot of things about this whole incident made sense.  
The small remainder of emotions that did manage to creep outside his mental walls shouted to him that the logical assumption he had made wasn't true. It still kept claiming it was a lie even when his own eyes comfirmed his conclusion. A lone tear managed to escape his right eye before the coldness overcame him..  
  
--  
  
A half hour had passed, and Shinji was running out of things to take his mind of the dream he had had last night. It annoyed him to no ends - he simply could not force his mind of it for longer periods. It was determined to make him remember 'til it drove him insane. He felt mentally exhausted and could feel a headache slowly sneaking up on his brain, the struggle to avoid thinking of the dream was begining to take its toll. Why couldn't someone just keep him company; anyone. Even his father would be better right now than facing the dream.  
He sighed. Asuka had been right last night: it was silly and childish to get so worked up over a simple dream.. but it simply refused to leave him. And somewhere in his mind he knew that there was more to it than just a nightmare.. He shook his head for the umpteenth time in the last halfhour, trying to force some sense into his numb brain.  
Then it came. The sound. It seemed like before he had even heard it his body had tensed and put itself into an alert position. Silence. Nothing. Had he really heard that, or was it just another trick of his disobedient memory? He felt his pulse quicken and fear suddenly grip him in a tight grip. He wasn't sure how long he sat there, but it had to be atleast a minute. The silence was still there screaming into his ears. He stood up, determined to walk around a bit instead. He needed a sound, even if it was just his own shoes hitting the metal floor.  
There it was again. A fragment of something. It was like it was more a feeling than a sound. Like it had rode on mental waves and had simply gone from its origin to him without passing the air or his ears on the way.  
He took a few steps forward, the sound of his shoes against metal suddenly as uncomfortable as the silence. He looked nervously around. Nothing. He'd been imagining it all. He certainly was all of the weakling Asuka continously portrayed him as.  
He froze suddenly. His breath halted in his throat as his whole mind went 'tilt'. He blinked. It was still there. He shook his head. And again. He tried refocusing. The face wouldn't go away. The pale smiling red-eyed face of Rei Ayanami, looking at him intently. He took a step back as she walked into view, wearing not a single peice of clothing. The hard rock band called 'Panic' screamed out an odd composition called 'Run away' for his entire being to hear, yet it seemed like someone had conveniently given his legs a pair of ear plugs. Ayanami took another few steps towards him, her hands starting to reach for him. She giggled.  
In his mind, images of many more came, images of locked doors.. Images of no escape. He wanted to scream, but his throat was not feeling cooperative, very much like his legs.  
Another sound came. One that gave him a sudden comfort - one that smashed the panic stage away and began planting a flowery garden called 'hope'. The sound of a door opening. And in his mind it wasn't just any door - it was the door to salvation. He did what he never managed to do in his dream: he turned and ran.  
  
--  
  
Asuka Langley Sohryu stepped out of the changing room and slid the door closed again. About time really, they'd kept her up with pointless things for ages. According to Lt. Ibuki, they had been testing a few ways to optimize the neural connection between her and the Eva, and it had meant lots and lots of nothing but sitting and concentrating, and answering stupid questions. She was sick of it - all she wanted now was to go home. A series of quick steps against metal managed to breach through her thoughts of annoyance and she looked up to see Shinji running towards her. The insult that appeared into her mind got stuck in her throat as she saw the look on his face: an expression of pure fright. That didn't inhibit her moments later as Shinji slid around her and suddenly clung to her back like a child chimpansee would it's mother.  
"Hey! Let go, pervert!" she exclaimed with not a little annoyance. The nerve he had, holding on to her like that! Shinji didn't let go and even held through her initial light attempts at removing him; instead he just pointed towards where he had come from, stumbling out some phrases that made little sense.  
Asuka managed to catch on to the words "Ayanami", "Strange" and "Cold". Somehow, she found that those three words pretty much summed up her thoughts on the first child.  
"So?" she blurted out, trying a bit harder to unlatch the frightened boy, while her mind tried to understand what was wrong with him. Wondergirl wouldn't scare him like this.. but what would..?  
The giggle sort of answered her question, as it seemed to cause Shinji to try and become one with her shadow. The origin of the malplaced sound added another peice of the puzzle as she walked into clear view. However unlike Shinji she didn't have his nightmare for guidance on the sight before her, so she came to her own conclusion.  
*..somehow Wondergirl got pretty stuffed with drugs..* she thought, her mind starting create a likely scenario that would explain the way the two other pilots were currently acting.  
"Hey relax Idiot! She's high, that's all! There's no reason to be afraid just because she made a pass at you!" Asuka called out, trying to convince Ikari to let go of her. After a slight moment, he did.. But not like he had expected him to. She had expected him to let go of her, slowly at first but then speeding up, and offering a myriad of trademark excuses. What she had not expected was the frightened gasp he let out, and the way he suddenly jumped away from her back, like they suddenly had turned into opposing poles on a magnet. She realized that another giggle from wondergirl had been the cause.  
The problem was.. the giggle had come from the wrong side of the corridor. She blinked furiously, her mind struggling to explain why there was two of them when there'd been just one moments before. She decided she needed answers. Now. Deciding that Shinji wouldn't react with such intence fear unless he knew something was wrong from the start, she figured the best solution would be to ask him. And it defenately would be better to so somewhere where his mind wasn't occupied by the sight of the first child.  
She turned around, promptly grabbed his arm and with a quick "This way!" she took off, pulling the paniced boy along with her. Though while they were running she couldn't shake the feeling that things would only get worse from now on...  
  
--  
  
Shinji collapsed against the other wall, not having expected Asuka give him a big shove into the small room which she had opened after they'd run a fair bit from... the Ayanamis. He slowly turned around so his back was facing the wall, and slid down it to a sitting position, his mental exhaustion making the physical one alot worse than it actually was. He heard the door click and saw Asuka had closed the door after her, and the clicking sound had apparently been her locking it.  
"Now third child, what's wrong?" she asked, her voice firm and commanding. Shinji tried his best to ask what she meant and failed miserably, his voice clinging to his throat like it was afraid of leaving him.  
"About he~...THEM! You wouldn't react so strongly about them if you didn't know anything, so spill!". Shinji sighed, though he was suprised how it seemed more happy than sad. Asuka wanted to listen to him; something about it made him feel very special somehow.  
"..it.. it's from the dream.. remember..? Last night.." he began, desperately fighting to make his voice stop shaking. A slight nod from Asuka prompted him to continue. So he did, he slowly told her of the foggy corridor, the first Ayanami that had showed up aswell as the rest of them.. the cold of their touch and the fear they had inspired. How every passageway had been locked or blocked somehow, and how they had advanced on him, only to grasp him in the end. How that feeling of cold had overwhelmed him in the very last moment of the dream.. like they turned him to ice.  
  
--  
  
Asuka was disturbed in the least. Shinjis dream had been so.. off.. abstract.. like a bad horror movie gone worse to so bad that you couldn't even laugh at the nonexistant plot or bad effects. And yet.. there was something in how he told it.. the gloom in his eyes, the way his whole body twitched..  
*The way those dolls had walked, dressed in only that freaky smile.* her mind added, conveniently summing up that she had actually SEEN those.. things.. that his dream had been about. The first child had never been more than the commanders doll, but those two had been even worse.. like the dolls of noone.. driven by.. something..  
*Great. The first child gets high, walks around on two places at once and the only explination I have is a dream idiot-Shinji had about a thousand zombie Reis* ... Something about that thought disturbed her. The last part went through her mind again, without telling her that she actually had vocalized it in a low whisper. Looking towards his eyes, she could almost see Shinjis mind trying to disect the phrase 'a thousand zombie Reis' which she had accidentaly spoken out. Atleast he seemed more in control now. She flashed him a quick reassuring smile before the normal confident one took its place; she turned around.  
"..Whe.. where are you..?" she knew he'd ask that. She also knew he'd follow her wherever she was going. The thougt was.. comforting.. though she didn't want him knowing that, or she would've asked him from the start.  
"The bridge. If anyone knows, they should have an idea what's going on. Plus, they can watch the security cameras from there." she stopped herself just in time from mentioning that it would be 'safe'. *Safe from what? Those were just two ..dolls.. shuffling around!*. She didn't want to admit it, but Shinjis tale of his nightmare had freaked her out. That along with how out-of-character the first.. children.. had been.  
"..D-don't leave me here..!" Shinji burst out all of a sudden, raising to his feet in an eyeblink. Asuka smiled inwardly, she had wanted him to react that way.  
"Well come along then stupid, instead of sitting in here all day.". She opened the door and walked through. No signs of anything, the place was just as empty as it had been when they had crashed into the small room on the side. She could feel Shinji behind her - he wasn't latching on to her anymore, but he was still staying very close to her. They began making their way towards the bridge, Shinji hovering as close to Asuka as humanly possible without them actually touching; neither of them noticed that they were walking a few gears faster than they normally did...  
  
--  
  
Rei Ayanami had been walking with a purpose - going back to her resting place for the usual late activities - when a quick shriek had cut her train of thought to ribbons. Facing the origin of the sound, she was greeted by the sight of a frightened third child seeming like he was trying to hide behind a determined-looking second child. The way their eyes were focussed on her she guessed that she had something to do with the way they acted, but she couldn't discern why or how. It disturbed her; the seconds hostility was normal, but the third had never seemed frightened of her.  
"Ikari? Sohryu?" she queried, her neutral expression momentarely giving way for a confused one. Sohryu seemed to relax, but Ikari did not mirror her reaction. The second child took on a thoughtful frown while intently observing her, as if she tried to read her sould with her eyes. Moments of silence passed, and all Rei could figure out was that she was missing some vital part of the equation to come up with a solution.  
"Hey! Relax idiot! She's her! The real one! Not one of them!" Sohryu exclaimed quite loudly to the frightened Ikari. That seemed to have atleast some effect and the boy relaxed somewhat.  
"A---ayanami?" he asked, barely managing to keep his voice from wavering.  
"Ikari." she replied, trying to confirm Sohryus words that she was infact herself, and.. not whatever Sohryu had refered to. 'Them'. Sohryu had refered to her as 'the real one', and not 'one of them'. Them what? What wasn't she one of? Fear suddenly split Ikaris face in two.  
"Aya--! Behind you!" he yelled suddenly, taking a step back. She spun around rapidly, like his voice had made her body move without passing her mind first. She found herself standing face to face with.. ..with.. herself..?  
The face before her looked just like her.. but it was smiling.. a sort of happy grin. It giggled. Confused, she took a step backwards. The thing standing before her was a naked her. Her analytical mind began putting two and two together, and then multipled it all by four and suddenly the equation had an answer.  
Suddenly she knew.. the body in front of her was a shell. .a vessel.. one that might replace her someday should she fail. But it was also one of 'them', which means there were more than one. They were also whatever Ikari and Sohryu had tried to escape. She took a few more steps backwards while trying to figure out why exactly this empty vessel was walking around at all, no less reaching for her.  
Once again a frightened shriek tore through her mind. This one was longer and if possible, even more filled with fear than the last. Spinning around, she saw Ikari tear himself from the almost-grip of another.. 'them'.. and quickly placing himself between her and Sohryu.  
"First!". Rei met the seconds gaze. "We're heading for the bridge! You comming?". She considered the offer. These walking shells apparently made Sohryu nervous enough to void all hostility between them, and Ikari showed more obvious fear than she had ever thought he could. It also seemed they knew even less than her about 'them', and 'their' origins, and for whatever reasons they decided they might find answers at the bridge.. or atleast a safe haven.  
Rei nodded. As Sohryu grabbed Ikaris arm and dashed off in the direction of the bridge, Rei felt an almost burning cold touch her shoulder. She knew what it was almost immediately and didn't bother looking back as she took up the pace and followed behind the other two pilots..  
  
--  
  
They stopped running. Or rather, Ikari stopped and mirrored the grip Sohryu had on his arm, forcing her to come to a stop aswell. Rei slowed down next to them, silently wondering why they didn't keep going. She did however utilize the situation to slide a hand up and touch where she had felt the cold. The touch was long gone, but in her mind she could still feel it lingering across her shoulder, trying to spread to the rest of her. Her hand found nothing unusual, as she had expected, but she felt very uneasy over the memory of the touch. It had been like.. like.. something had tried to take her .. soul away from her body.. leaving only a cold shell.. like .. 'them'.. She felt confused as she had to supress an involentary shiver, trying to place the strange feeling she felt. This whole situation affected her unlike anything had.. and unlike what the young Ikari had managed to impose on her a few times, this wasn't a pleasant one.  
"What?!" Sohryu allmost yelled to Ikari, apparently just as confused as her as to why they had stopped. Ikari just held up a hand and seemed to concentrate. Considering how full of fear he had been just recently, it was unsettling to see him act so calm all of a sudden.  
"..hear that?" he asked in a voice that was almost nothing but a whisper. Rei realized that everything suddenly made total sense. Ikari was more unsettled than the rest of them, so he naturally had his senses more on alert than her or Sohryu.. And his mind wasn't occupied with where they were going either as he was just dragged along, so he would be the one to notice anything out of the ordinary.  
"Wh~" Sohryu began, before she too must've picked it up. It sounded like a shadow of a sound.. without definitive mass but still with a tell-tale mark of its presence. It sounded like it was almost continous.. but still not. It was most unsettling.  
Gunfire cut through the shadow of a sound, bursting clean and true through the air like sound should. Noone said anything - noone had to. As through a silent agreement spoken between their minds they mobilized into action like only people who had fought together before could. They ran towards the sound; 'them' was unlikely to use firearms and that only meant that whatever was firing could very well be their salvation..  
  
--  
  
Shinji gasped. The situation didn't make a whole lot of sense. Or rather: it DID make sense, but it shouldn't - and that was probably what disturbed him the most. They had arrived at the source of the sound of guns firing, and had been met with the sight of a member of NERV security being surrounded by the.. 'them'. He didn't want to think of them as 'Ayanamis', especially since the _real_ Ayanami was with them. A few of 'them' was lying on the floor, bleeding pools of red blood. But they kept going.. there was many of them.. so many. And bullets didn't always stop them. They recoiled as they should, but the wounds didn't seem to bother them.. A bullet had taken the lower part of the arm off one, and it still kept going, even though it was bleeding. It was an eerie sight, seing the security man being overtaken by small naked girls, becomming weaker by each touch. They seemed to try to hold on to him, like they tried to absorb his warmth.. and in a way, it looked like they were succeeding. The man fell down with a scream that faded away almost before it had even started, 'them' encircling him briefly before leaving the .. body.. behind. Shinji had no doubt in mind that the man was dead by now - he didn't know why he knew.. he just did.  
He began to slowly back away as 'them' turned towards the trio with their arms reaching, their empty smiles radiating cold, and their giggles sounding like mad screams of murderous insanity. He took a few steps back, somehow aware that the girls with him had done so aswell. He knew Asuka was afraid - maybe not as much as he was, but afraid nonetheless. He had seen her fear shine through her mental barriers momentarely when they met Ayanami.. or when two had snuck up on them as they had realized it was the real Ayanami. What did suprise him was the moments of something that he could only guess was fear shine through the emotionless mask of Ayanami Rei; or maybe not fear, but she was defenately upset and somewhat nervous about this whole series of events.  
"..I think.. we should take another way.." Asuka said, observing the aproaching 'them'.  
"Yes." Ayanami agreed.  
"..either of you know a good way to the bridge from here.. without.. going .. THAT .. way?" Shinji asked, deciding he didn't know enough about the passageways of NERV to pick their way.  
"..Well.. uhm.." Asuka began.. before Ayanami cut her off with a short "This way."  
Asuka didn't complain like last time Ayanami had offered to lead the way, she just grabbed Shinjis arm like she didn't expect him to follow unless he was guided and took off after the first child who was already half-running in the other direction.  
  
--  
  
They had been crawling for god knews how long and Asukas bare knees hurt after spending so much time in contact with the hard metal of the ventilation shafts. The idea of utilizing the ventilation shafts to reach their goal had been a good one; the one downside that it hadn't been hers, but wondergirls'. Atleast unlike last time they'd spent crawling through the tight space of the ventilation crawlspace she was now behind Shinji, who was following the doll. Though part of that was somewhat infuriating: she knew they didn't need a scene so she had to supress all the little urges to tease Shinji about looking up wondergirls skirt. It was getting harder though, the concentrated silence was getting to her. She was JUST about to say the first best thing that popped into her mind when a sound cought her mind. In fact it was more than a sound, it was a voice. Something along the lines of 'stay away!'. While absentmindedly noting that her companions had stopped aswell she turned around and found a grating the sound came from while her mind desperately tried to identify the voice. She backed for awhile 'til she was in place to remove the grating. As she struggled against it she was suprised to see a second pair of hands help her lift it and then tilt it to drop it down to the floor below. *Shinji* she knew instantly. She securely placed her hands on the other side of the opening and put her head through, not wishing to drop down 'til she knew if it was safe or not.  
*Doctor Akagi!*. Indeed, the blonde woman was there, stumbling back towards a corner while trying to ward off two of the wannabe-wondergirls. Her mind also noted two unconsious - *Dead!* she thought - security guards.. And their sidearms.  
She took her head out of the passageway she and Shinji had created and found herself staring right into the eyes of the third child. Her wish for him to give her some room passed swiftly between their gazes, yet Shinji held her eyes for a whole extra second before nodding and complying. She resisted the wish to shake her head clear of his eyes as she nimbly slid out of the ventilation shaft and into the room below..  
  
--  
  
They were comming for her - or rather, for her soul. But they couldn't transfer it on their own.. not without horribly corrupting it.. and since there were more than one they'd tear it appart aswell. When she had begun realizing what was actually loose in NERV she had stopped worrying about dying, and started worrying about her very soul dying.  
The corner touched her back..Trapped!. She slid down to a sitting position, her legs not really wanting to carry her anymore. A normal death almost seemed welcome now.. she had already been touched too much: the cold was almost burning in places and her body there was begining to grow numb and less responsive. Maybe it was her punishment for what she'd done; after all it was her fit of rage that had started a crack along the container that had held the clones.. the crack that most certainly had let them out.  
She hadn't noticed the children until the sound of gunfire errupted, a bullet tearing through the head of the first clone. The first shot must've been lucky, because the second impacted around the shoulder of the second. It turned and she caught a glance of the shooter - Asuka! - who steadied herself and fired a third time, this time finding her mark and stopping whatever remnants of brain activity that was present in the soulless being. With the shooter being busy observing her handiwork Dr Akagi took a stray glance around the room, seeing Rei slide out of a ventilation shaft with a feline grace while Shinji was running towards her.  
"D-dr Akagi! Ritsuko! Are you okay?!" the first child asked as he sat down slightly to look her in the eyes, his own showing of concern. There was hope there too though; strangely shining behind everything else.. There was something with that that made her feel somewhat hopeful too.. If Shinji Ikari - third child - could seem hopeful in a situation as dark as this one, after all he'd gone through.. then just maybe there was hope.. maybe she did have one chance - to redeem herself.  
She smiled, and had to stiffle the will to laugh. Everything she had done up to this point seemed so pointless all of a sudden. NERV was being consumed from the inside by its very creations and all hope rested on the children that were meant to be replaced. The irony of the situation was overwhelming.  
"I'll.. I'll live.." she finally decided on - not really sure if it was the truth herself.  
"Can you stand?" Shinji asked, and she shook her head. The cold was getting to her - it wasn't overwhelming her, but rather settling and preventing affected limbs from being effectively used.  
*Wonder if I'll ever stand again?* she thought bitterly, knowing just why she would be feeling cold. The clones had pretty much torn a part of her soul away from her.. enough so it would never and could never heal.  
"Doctor Akagi. We need to speak with you." Ritsuko looked up; of course.. Rei. The albino girl would know enough to realize how big part of everything Ritsuko really played.  
"Yeah. Like what are those.. things..". Asuka was speaking now, pointing with the gun she'd picked up at the clones she'd dispatched with it. "..why do they look like wondergirl here, and how the HELL do we get rid of them?!". Ritsuko looked between the faces of the three children; Reis face had an edge to her normally emotionless features, Asuka had a determined look on hers and Shinjis was shining with some inner strength behind a mask of fear and confusion. She had to give the kids credit - they were alot stronger than anyone imagined.. alot stronger than she or many others were..  
"..It's a long story.." she began. "..so I hope you don't mind staying around for awhile.." The protests that had appeared on their faces in the first part vanished during the second. Shinji nodded while the slight edge to Reis face disappeared. Asuka went to fetch the other gun and after what seemed like a short moment of indecision handed it to Rei, like she didn't trust Shinji with carrying a weapon.  
"Well then.. what do you want to know?"  
  
--  
  
Rei felt.. disturbed. She had expected to get some answers about her own existance, but those answers had done nothing but give birth to even more questions. The only small comfort she had now was that her soul was her own; her very own. Neither her biological origins or the other clones had the soul she posessed - it was hers. For the first time in she couldn't remember how long she felt special, unique; like one of a kind.  
"So.. You're saying that all those.. things.. along with wondergirl here are clones.. from idiot-Shinji's mom and some big angel NERV has locked away in the basement; and the only thing that makes wondergirl not act like them is because she has a soul?" Sohryu exclaimed, sounding a bit overwhelmed by everything. Akagi only nodded, leaning back towards the wall she was sitting against.  
"..is there anything we can do?..". Ikaris voice managed to hold its share of strength even though it wavered.  
"As a matter of fact, there might be." Akagi paused, seemingly cought up in thought. "Doesn't it strike you as odd that the clones can live even if they lack a soul?". Rei considered that. It was odd indeed.. unless something controlled them.. Some all-mighty puppetmaster holding all the strings. She could almost hear the call herself, an almost unnoticeable whisper in the back of her mind.  
"Get to the damn point!" Sohryu burst out in obvious annoyance.  
"Lillith.." Rei whispered, thoughtfully. That was what Akagi had called the angel - the second - that was part of her and all the other clones.  
"Yes. Indeed. I think she is leading them like they were her private army.". Rei nodded, unable to deny that she could hear the call aswell.  
"But.. why?". Sohryu again, retreating down into confusion; switching mood yet again with lightning speed.  
"Adam. She needs Adam to start the third impact. It seems she want to assume control herself, without humanity or the angels."  
Sohryu frowned. "Adam?"  
"The first angel. The cause of the second impact. Now reduced to nothing but an embryo. Lillith might be using the clones to fetch him and cause her own version of third impact.".  
"..Then what can we do?". Ikari again, sounding a bit powerless.  
"..wha..? Are you stupid, third?! I say we go down there and teach her not to mess with people who pilot EVA's!" Sohryu exclaimed, punching her right fist into her left palm for effect. Doctor Akagi nodded.  
"Yes. You just have to get there before Adam does."  
"I believe we should hurry then." Rei thought out loudly. Ikari was about to say something, but Akagi silenced him by holding up a hand.  
"Don't.. worry about me. Just give me one of the handguns and I'll manage on my own. You just go, and hurry!" Rei shot Sohryu a stray glance which immediately told her the redhead would never give up _her_ weapon. Deciding it wouldn't hurt, Rei offered hers to the doctor. Sohryu just nodded and began walking away.  
"We'll make sure someone'll come for you..." Ikari said, obviously worried. He began to turn aswell, and Rei followed suit.  
"Shinji..". Ikari stopped, looking confused back at the doctor.  
"I know.. you were never on the best of terms. But I think you should know. Your father went over to where the clones were stored earlier.. He hadn't made it back when I left.. I think it's safe to asume that he's..". Ikaris face took on a look of sadness.  
"I.. understand.. Thanks for.. telling me..". As Ikari went back to following Sohryu again, a frown passed Reis' face. The commander was dead.. Then what about her purpose? What was there for her now? She was unusually deep in thought as she followed her fellow pilots as they resumed their steady treck to the bridge.  
  
--  
  
The sound of sidearms firing was further away now, speaking of the distance between herself and the bullets being fired. She guessed the children had found either more sidearms, more clips or both: otherwise the one gun the third had packed would've run dry by now. She smiled; the children would fix everything.. They would deal with Lillith, Adam and the clones in one swift blow; destroying the fifteen year long nightmare that the world had waited for. Of course, it wasn't done yet.. and the children had every odds in the world against them; but she had faith. She just wished it wasn't too late.. for her. But it was - in many ways.  
She had no pretty illusion of her own involvement. She was just as guilty as the commander was. She had decieved and lied to the few who was the closest to caring to her. She had tried to rob children of innosence and knew that she had a good peice of blame for this incident with the clones ever happening. Maybe it was her punishment, dying in a corner of the very monster she was a part of.  
*Always save the last bullet for yourself*. Where had she heard that? It didn't matter anymore. She was down to her last round and the clones would be back. She smirked; six pale, naked and bleeding corpses already laid before her - a sign of her handiwork. She could hear more comming.. their giggles spreading a sort of perversed fear wearing the mask of joy. She wouldn't let them take her soul - tearing it appart like vultures over a corpse. She would remain. Maybe she would stay; maybe she wouldn't. It would do what normal souls did, instead of being torn into nothingness.. becomming nothing more than a speck of the huge power that was Lillith.  
She could see them now, the clones. Heading for her like she was a dinner table served and ready. She knew what she had to do - how to contribute in her own little way. Her lips mirrored the smile of the clones and she brought the muzzle of the sidearm up to her temple. A short wave of regret passed through her, a thousand things she wished she would've time to do before she passed away shot through her mind.  
"..Misato..Kaji.. Maya.. Children.. Mother.. Everyone....I'm sorry..."  
A tear fell. Doctor Ritsuko Akagi soon followed it, her limp hand holding an empty NERV security standard-issue sidearm.  
  
--  
  
A whole lot about it suprised Shinji. The way the handgun had tried to jump from his firm grasp, the way he almost by instinct had guided the lead slugs to their mark and how he had done it almost totally without thinking. The thing that suprised him most however was how easy it had been. His target was now spawled on the ground, red blood seeping from several red holes along her naked skin, forming a deep red pool of don'tthinkaboutitDON'TTHINKABOUTIT!  
Shinji just barely managed to employ the serious ammounts of willpower needed to look away and instead directed his gaze towards Asuka - the girl still sitting on the ground looking just as suprised as he felt.  
"A.. are you alright, Asuka?" he asked nervously. The girls' face took on an annoyed expression.  
"Of course I'm allright idiot! But try to react faster next t~.." she trailed off, obviously supressing an involontary shiver. She rose to her feet once again and shot him a look that reflected anything but the mighty Asuka Langley Sohryu.  
"..Thanks.. Shinji.." she almost whispered, a sad and apologetic yet grateful look flashing past her face before it took on more normal features. He forced himself to give her a slight smile before letting his eyes travel along their surroundings. They had managed to get encircled by the clones and it had taken alot of shooting from Asuka and Ayanamis' side to rectify that fact. The last incident had been one that had looked dead that suddenly had awoken and jumped Asuka. No matter how grateful he was for the fact that she was okay it didn't prevent him from feeling somewhat guilty for actually.. killing .. one of the clones. It was only a shell after all, a being lacking a soul to be truly alive; its only crime was that of being a puppet for a twisted master. He let out a slight sigh, trying to atleast temporarely clear it from his mind and focus more on the task at hand. None of them could afford wavering now.  
"Hey Wondergirl! Snap out of it!". Shinji looked over at where the voice came from; Asuka had apparently walked over to a distant Ayanami who seemed to be stuck in her own little world.. much like him. The pale girl turned to face the voice that sought her. They seemed so opposite in that exact moment - one girl of fire and one of ice.  
"We have no time to dream off now, we have to get going!"  
".. I... why?". Shinji blinked. Had Ayanami just asked that?  
"What? Are you stupid wondergirl?". Ayanami shook her head.  
"..what purpose do I have in continuing..? I am just as all these... sisters.. of mine.. But my.. puppetmaster.. is gone. As is my purpose. Then what reason do I have for living on?". It was alot of words comming from Ayanami, her voice spoke even more of them as it contained emotions he never suspected from the pale girl. And her puppetmaster.. was she talking of.. his father? Asuka looked like she too had been knocked clean away from her train of thought.  
".. well... what... what about Shinji? Isn't he sort of your brother? Are you going to abandon him just because of that too?". Shinjis eyes widened; he had NOT suspected that. He considered what Asuka had said.. Ayanami.. was.. almost his sister.. somehow it felt.. right.. thinking that.  
"..I..". Ayanami seemed lost all of a sudden. Like she had been stuck in a cage all her life and suddenly let loose.. Unsure of what to do. Asuka shot Shinji a stray glance - one silently telling him he had to do his part in her offensive. He felt lost all of a sudden.. What was he supposed to say.. what was he supposed to do. He only knew he couldn't run away.. not now; not anymore. That possibility had disappeared somewhere along the way.  
"..Aya~... Rei.. I.. "; the girl looked towards him, her confused face obviously waiting for him to finish.  
*Damnit! I'm not good at this!*.  
".. I- believe in you Rei. I think.. you can find a new purpose once all this is over.. I'll.. WE'll help you.. if it's too hard on your own..". Shinji tried to give her his best reassuring smile while his insides wondered where all those words had come from. He certainly hadn't had the power to speak them just awhile ago. Rei regarded him for what seemed like forever; and then she smiled. Shinji remembered that smile - it was one of the prettiest he had seen, almost lighting up her face like she had turned into a star. He remembered last time he had seen that special smile; he just barely managed to hold back tears whose origin he wasn't even sure of himself. Rei still wore that smile when she turned to Asuka.  
"Shall we get going then Sohryu?". Asuka blinked once.  
"...right. This way!". Rei turned once more to Shinji before following after the second child.  
"..Thank you.. Ika~.. Shinji.". He smiled back at her before picking up pace himself, hoping that they'd stay alive long enough for him to keep what he had promised.  
  
--  
  
Hadn't major Misato Katsuragi promised herself to be strong when the troubles began that evening she would've broken down and cried a long time ago. Why oh why hadn't she followed her first instinct and taken off trying to find them? Oh but it was pointless. She knew exactly why: It wouldn't have increased their chances much and not only would she most likely be dead by now, but the same would be for the people staffing the bridge.. Not mentioning the workers they HAD managed to warn in time. Still, she felt dead inside. Shinji. Asuka. They were her only family now. The children she never had. Through all the problems, conflicts and hurt they still kept together.. held by some invisible bond.  
She knew they were alive.. she just knew it. It must atleast have been an hour since they last caught a glimpse of them crawling into a ventilation shaft on the security cameras, but she knew they were still among them.. somewhere. She silently asked whatever divine being might be watching over her to steer her children safe to where she was.  
"He~..HEY! I see them!". Ibuki. Misato twirled around and almost stormed over to the younger womans' seat like a mad hurricane and peirced her eyes into the screen.  
It was them! Her dear children; along with the first child - Rei Ayanami. They were keeping a steady pace and were cautiously watching every corner and shadow for activity; their tired and weary faces holding a determined resolve. Even Shinji had a sidearm with him, handling it with experience that shouldn't be there. She knew why - they had all been taught to use firearms.. only many times their size.. using Evangelions many times their size. The innocense of the three children.. all but another nail in NERVs' coffin.  
"Where is this from?" Misato asked, frowning at the display. Her voice still sounded calm and authoritive and her face barely managed to look the same; but on the inside she was almost bursting with hope and joy.  
"Not far. They're almost at the launching bay.". Misato looked out over the so named area. Three Evangelions were already prepped and ready thanks to the orders of the second-in-command, sub-commander Fuyutsuki. There were still alot of the things Ritsuko had refered to as 'the clones' down there, stumbling in their own oblivion. Misato felt a slight twinge of sadness. Poor Ritsu; they had seen her cornered before switching camera, neither of the command crew had wanted to see the doctor die.  
She snapped her mind back into the present; her children was close - very close. She grabbed one of the assault rifles they had managed to salvage earlier and a handful of clips, her mind set on one thing alone.  
"Katsuragi!", "Misato!", "Major!". The protests of the bridge staff, obviously guessing what she was about to do. She ignored them.  
"Major Katsuragi.". A hand on her shoulder, along with the soft voice of the sub-commander. "You are going after them, aren't you?".  
"Yes.". It had been a dumb question. Of course she was!  
"I understand. I doubt I could convince you not to even if I thought you were doing the wrong thing. Good luck.". Misato smiled. The sub-commander was nothing like commander Ikari.  
*He actually cares about people* she thought. "Thanks. I'll be back soon!". She opened one of their locked doors and quickly slid through, hearing it close behind her. They didn't want to take any chances with these clones. Her right hand quickly slid over the holster of her sidearm, verifying its presence before checking for the clips she had stashed in various pockets of her jacket. She crasped the handle of the rifle, feeling the trigger against her finger.  
*Hold on kids, I'm comming!*  
  
--  
  
Rei frowned. They were in the bay where they usually entered the Evangelions, not far from their objective: the bridge. But a gigglish mass of clones was in the way. She brought her sidearm around and fired a few well-placed shots in yet another, only to have two take its place. They had started by blindly running right into alot of them; then another mass had caught up from behind, effectively trapping them. She fired more shots, more clones fell to the floor, painting it crimson with blood. The three pilots were pretty much back-to-back, desperately trying to hold of the enclosing circle. It was a loosing battle, she was sure the other children knew that aswell.  
She felt.. afraid? .. She realized she didn't want to die, even though she had wanted to not long ago. She wanted to stay alive; to learn of this purpose Ikari - no - _Shinji_ had promised he would help her find. And what Sohryu had said; could she and Shinji really be called.. siblings?  
She forced herself back to reality and fired off some more rounds. Her gun clicked the last time. It had run dry. Again. She quickly ejected the dry clip and forcibly slid in a fresh one. She chambered the first round and began firing again, determined to not let her mind slip again.  
A few more clones fell.. but they were all the wrong ones. She hadn't even been aiming in that direction.. and both Shinji and Sohryu should be busy with their own sides. The answer soon revealed itself as she finally heard the rapid fire of some weapon that defenately had more power than her sidearm.  
"Misato!" Shinji yelled, his voice sounding like a mixture of joy, hope and relief. Indeed, it was Major Katsuragi running for the rescue, an assault rifle in her hands.  
"Shinji! Asuka!" the womans face lit up and a smile crossed her determined features. "This way! You too Rei!".  
They ran back to the bridge, trying to avoid rather than attack as much as possible. Althrough she used it sparingly, the major easilly cleared a path when necessary with her automatic rifle; leaving nothing but bleeding bodies in its wake. The stairs up where clearer, the stumbling clones did seem to have a problem climbing; the few present was easilly dealt with.  
Rei was so caught up in the moment of escape that she hardly noticed they had finally reached their destination until the door slid shut behind her. She felt a slight twinge of.. jealousy?.. when major Katsuragi affectionately threw her arms around the second and third after dropping her rifle.  
Her eyes scanned the room quickly, noting the normal bridge staff plus two security personell and sub-commander Fuyutsuki in the room. She once again looked at the scene before her. Katsuragi was almost on her knees to reach in head-height with the children as she had one arm tight around the shoulders of each, tears sliding down her face. Shinji just held her back with a simular facial expression while Sohryu looked a bit more reluctant and resisting, but seemed to find some comfort in the moment nonetheless. Another scan of the room told her that everyone else was staring at the scene before her too, most with affectionate eyes. She felt another twinge.. It was strange, why should she feel jealous of the children in front of her.  
After long last the major did let go of the children and backed of long enough to take a good look at them. Rei wasn't sure if she had been the only one to pick up how the womans expression darkened slightly at the sight of the sidearms the pilots were carrying. It wasn't there for long however, as Katsuragi quickly covered it up with a warm and comforting smile..  
  
--  
  
"So what you're saying is that there's not one, but TWO angels right here in the geofront; and that right now one of them is using these ..clones... to find the other and start a third impact on its own?" Misato asked, feeling quite overwhelmed. She felt that alot of things didn't make a whole lot of sense this night.  
"That is what doctor Akagi said." Reis' calm voice replied, her face neutral.  
"Yeah and we have to go and stop this 'Lillith' before she succeeds." Asuka added. Shinji didn't say anything. Misato considered their options.  
"Maya. Can we launch the Evangelions?" she asked while turning to the young woman.  
"..uh.. I think so. The problem would be to reach the entry plugs safely; none of the systems and controls doing the rest should be damaged." Maya Ibuki replied nervously.  
"Great! Prep~..". Misato suddenly reminded herself of the presence of the sub-commander at the bridge.  
"Go ahead Major. I entrust this situation in your hands." Fuyutsuki said with a slight smile.  
"Yes sir.". Misato cleared her throat.  
"Maya! Prepare the EVAs' for launch! Makoto! Get them a clear path down to the lower levels! Shigeru! See how clear the area around the entry plugs are!" Misato yelled. There was a brief pause while her orders registered before the three bridge crewmembers yelled a simultaneous "Yes sir!" and complied.  
"Do you really think it can be done?" Fuyutsuki asked, a concerned look on his face. Misato almost smiled: she began to like the older man - he was nothing like Commander Ikari.  
"Ritsu thought so. I guess we have no other choice.". Misato looked out over the launch bays for the evangelions as they began to slide into place.  
  
--  
  
The area near the entrances of the entry plugs had been remarkably clear - the few clones that had been there were now nothing but bleeding heaps of dead flesh. Both Asuka and Rei were both in their plugs closed off from the world. As safe as they could be. Shinji climbed up towards the entrance of his and looked inside. Empty as it should be. He shot Misato a nod before begining to climb inside. Once inside he reached out to close the lid.  
"Hey Shinji...". He looked out at his guardian with a curious glance.  
"Good luck.. and stay alive..". Shinji smiled.  
"You too, Misato."  
He closed the lid of the entry plug, made sure it was properly locked in place and then proceeded to sit down in the control seat. For a brief moment his mind recalled the last time he had been in this plug without his plugsuit.. against the third angel. He decided to avoid thinking about it.  
"Are all of you ready in there?" Ibukis' voice came floating from somewhere. Audio-only communications were always on even if the EVA itself wasn't.  
"Of course!" Asuka exclaimed, easilly carrying over Reis' more modest "Yes."  
"Shinji?". He blinked. He hadn't expected them to be waiting for a reply from him.  
"I'm ready." he said.  
"Good. We're going to start powering up your EVA's while the Major gets here. Now remember; we have no power outlets deep inside the base, so you'll be stuck on battery power. You only have~"  
"Less than five minutes to deal with the angel. We know. We went through all this before." Asuka stated in bored tones. She obviously couldn't wait to get this over with.  
"..good. Starting activation sequence.". Shinji felt slight movements as his plug slid into place inside Unit-01. Several more steps of activation was passed and his plug was flooded with LCL. He closed his eyes and didn't open them until he felt that odd feeling caused by feedback from the EVA, telling him it was activated and the two of them had syncronized.  
"Status?". He could hear Misatos voice again.. she had reached the bridge earlier than he had expected: her voice sounding slightly out of breath told him that she must've been running full speed over to the bridge since he saw her by the entry plugs.  
"All Evangelions active and ready for launch!" Ibuki exclaimed.  
"We have a clear path down into the geofront! You can launch anytime." Hyuga continued.  
"Roger! Pilots ready?".  
"Just send us down already!" Asuka grumbled, once again outvoicing Reis' "Yes".  
"I'm ready Misato." Shinji said, just in case they were going to wait for an answer a second time.  
"Alright! EVANGELIONS, LAUNCH!".  
Even though the LCL dampened the effect somewhat Shinji still almost felt naseous at the sudden negative G-forces trying to push him into the roof. He decided it was alot worse than going upwards. Lights passed by him at blinding speeds. Soon they would be there.  
  
--  
  
They had stopped in a place with an ocean of LCL reaching up to the ankles of their EVAs. A large gate was blocking the path, but the bridge began opening it. Behind it a large pale white being was stuck to a cross, its body ending in some strange swellings where the legs should have been and the face covered by a purple mask with eyes painted on it. The body was totally featureless and sexless and seemed more like some twisted ghost than an angel. A large brown dual-edged spear was embedded deep in its chest.  
On a plateu free of LCL, many of the clones stood or were stumbling towards the white creature before them. One of them did stand out.. one that seemed to almost glow. One that started floating up towards the chest of Lillith.  
"..Adam.." Rei whispered, unable to do anything but stare at the scene.  
The floating clone merged with the large white mass and formed what seemed like a red core that floated into Lillith between the prongs of the spear. Suddenly the huge deformed body began to move.. to change. The odd blisters around it hips reformed into humanlike legs and the whole body began to take on more female proportions. The mask fell off and tumbled past the spear into the sea, revealing a face the three children had gotten very aquainted with during the last hours - the smiling face of Rei Ayanami.  
Rei gasped at the sight. She could feel this thing calling for her. The many clones on the ground began walking forward and into the sea of LCL to reach their destination.  
"What are you waiting for?! Let's go!" Sohryu suddenly yelled, her red EVA speeding towards the scene before them. Shinji took off after her, leaving Rei standing in a few moments of indecision before she followed.  
  
--  
  
Lillith reached up to pull the spear out of her just as Asuka got into range. Figuring it would be her best move, Asuka's EVA grasped the spear with both hands and used strength and momentum to drive it deeper into the angel. She was about to gloat when the angel regardless of her resistance pulled the spear free of herself and swung it in a motion that ended up flinging Unit-02 off it and into the ground. In the corner of her vision she saw Shinji rush to strike. His scream peirced her ears moments later.  
"Shinji! Get away from the angel!" Misato exclaimed, her voice crackling due to some interference.  
"What happened?" Asuka asked while she forced Unit-02 up to its feet again.  
"The angel tried to absorb him..!" Ibuki responded, probably busy analyzing the battle.  
Asuka decided not to hesitate and rushed forward to strike this Lillith. The white angel had a strangely soft consistence and rather than just taking the blow it almost gave way for Unit-02s' fist and absorbed most of the blow. An AT-field sprung up and sent the EVA flying backwards once more. Asuka growled in annoyance.  
"..hey..! Wait a minute.. It didn't try to absorb me..!" she concluded.  
"...no.. Unit-01 is made from her.. ours aren't.." Wondergirl said, something odd present in her voice. She was standing idle.. like she was just observing everything. Lillith started towards her, spear lifted.  
"Rei! Move!" Misato yelled, trying to will the first child into action.  
"..I... I can't..." the pilot replied, voice wavering. "..she.. she won't let me...". Lillith stood before the EVA, spear poised to strike.  
"Rei! Be strong! I.. I know you can do it!" Shinji yelled, his face showed an odd strength his shaken voice didn't.  
"Yeah Wondergirl, you better not turn on us now!" Asuka added while once again taking her EVA to its feet.  
Lillith swung the spear forward in a swift strike.  
Rei jumped to the side in the last minute, just barely clearing the way.  
"Now DIE you blasted angel!" Asuka almost roared and took off towards the back of Lillith. The angel turned and poised a strike which Asuka barely managed to avoid. The first child struck the angel from her path and the two pinned Lillith between themselves. Asuka grinned and thrust the EVAs' right hand into the chest of the white demon, reaching for the core. She felt it, with a grin she began to crush it.  
But.. it was wrong. It felt like.. her hand was invaded.. Like it tried to blend with something else.  
"NO!". She tore her arm out of Lillith out of reflex and saw the right hand of Unit-02 looking .. corrupted.. Deformed.  
A sudden pain blossomed up along her side and she stumbled backwards, trying to regain a solid footing.  
"Asuka!". Shinji. She could see the purple Unit-01 looming over her. Her fragmented mind still tried to peice together what had just happened.  
A gasp of pain reached her ears. Looking up she saw Lillith making a motion throwing Unit-00 - which was stuck with the spear penetrating its belly - towards them. Moments later a strong AT-field materialized itself before them.  
  
--  
  
"We've lost all communications with the Evangelions!" Makoto yelled.  
"Sensors detect a very strong AT-filed! The magi say it's a 97% chance that it's what's interfering with the signals!" Maya added.  
"What?!" Misato yelled, even though she knew exactly what she had just been told.  
The situation looked grim: Shinjis' EVA couldn't even touch the angel without being absorbed and the core seemed to have the same effect on Unit-02. She felt defeated.. she had faith in her children.. much faith.. but she began to doubt it was enough.  
A stray look on the sub-commander told her what she already knew - what she didn't want to know. There was only one thing they could do now.  
"Ready the self-destruct.".  
  
--  
  
Shinji tried to push against the AT-field. It didn't even yield one bit. Time was ticking.. he'd be out of power soon unless something desperate was done. But what?  
"I see.." Rei suddenly said.  
"What?! You see what wondergirl?!" Asuka yelled back, desperation clearly visible in her voice. They were about to loose, all of them knew it.  
"The core is of Adam. We can't harm it for the same reasons Shinji can't harm the rest of her.". Shinji couldn't argue with that logic.  
"Huh? So then what do we do? Ask the core to come out and play?!". Apparenly Asuka could.   
"I'll do it. It takes awhile for the arm to dissolve. It should be enough to crush the core." Shinji said in a sudden moment of decision. He knew he had to.. he was the only one who could now. He tried to push harder against the AT-field, his own spreading. No reaction whatsoever.  
"Yes. Sohryu, take my hand. We need to neutralize the AT-field.".  
"Your hand?!"  
"Our AT-fields need to overlap as one. Contact would help.".  
The timer passed to less than a minute left  
"Alright. But you better be right about this."  
Unit-00 and 02 took up place behind him - one on each side - with their hands held behind his back.  
"Second. Spread your field!" Rei said, her EVAs' free hand held foward.  
"I am!" Asuka yelled back, doing the same.  
Shinji tried to focus his field along with theirs, trying to create one together rather than three individual ones.  
Seconds passed.  
The barrier before them began to give.  
*Open! Open! OPEN! OPEN!* he repeated over in his mind just as he had done when he and Asuka had fought together in Unit-02.  
  
--  
  
"You're not planning to..?" Ibukis' voice was frightened.  
"We have no other option." the sub-commander replied. Calm.  
"But they can still.."  
"I know. Won't hit the switch until there's no other choice.". Misato hated herself for having to do it. Self-destructing the place when the children were out of power would most certainly kill them. Yet.. the fate of the world was in their hands.. she had no choice.  
  
--  
  
15 seconds.  
Shinji felt the tip of Unit-01s' fingers penetrate the field. He was barely aware of the roar he made when he clutched the edges and tore through. Momentum and the AT-field of Unit-00 and 02 carried him forward towards Lillith.  
He lifted his right arm forward and aimed for the chest of the angel.  
There was hardly any resistance given as his hand sunk deep. He could feel the core brush his fingers.  
He could also feel his arm almost begin to disolve, being absorbed by the angel. He tried to make a fist.  
There was resistance.. the core didn't want to give in. He felt his arm growing weaker as Lillith gradualy took possession of it.  
"Shinji!" Reis' voice called.  
"Hurry up Idiot!" Asuka yelled.  
  
--  
  
*Children.. I'm sorry..* Misato thought.  
  
--  
  
5 seconds.  
A million of images passed through Shinjis head all at once. Misato, Asuka, Rei, father, Touji, Kensuke, Hikari, the people he knew at NERV, the people at school, many he couldn't remember. They all depended on him. Every single being on the planet relied on him in that very moment. And he was going to fail them all.  
"NO!" he roared. He failed to notice Unit-01 opening its mouth and roaring aswell.  
His right hand made a fist.  
The timer hit 0. The entry plug went dark.  
  
--  
  
"Abort! Abort! I can see them! The angel is silent!" Maya Ibuki yelled in a hysterical voice.  
"Huh?!". Misato almost triggered the destruct sequence anyway from the shock.  
"I said the field is gone! We have communications back! The Evangelions have shut down, but the Angel is silent!".  
Misato exhaled, noticing for the first time that she had held her breath the last half-minute. She felt weak, but overjoyed. She dropped down in the closest available seat, her legs unable to keep her standing.  
*Thank god.* she thought.  
"Doctor Akagi was right! Look!" Shigeru called, pointing at his monitor. Indeed, the clones that hadn't gone down to where Lillith was were dying.. or rather falling appart. It seemed like they suddenly couldn't keep themselves together anylonger. Misato nodded.  
"Get the children back up here!" she commanded. Three confused faces observed her.  
"....uhm.. How..?"  
"I don't care how! Just get them back!". Misato relaxed back in her chair. The nightmare was over. She couldn't help but look forward to some sleep.  
  
--  
  
Rei felt like part of her was dying. It hurt all over though the pain was strongest around her stomach. She knew what was happening: Lillith was dying, and the part of her that was intimately linked with Lillith was following with the angel into nothingness. She was afraid.. afraid the rest of her would be pulled along the dying angel - away from life.  
*It isn't fair* she thought as the pain grew. Now when she finally wanted to stay alive she couldn't.  
Darkness surrounded her her battered mind couldn't take the pain anymore and gave into unconsiousness. She never saw the red sphere seperate itself from her body and fall to the floor of the entry plug, slowly darkening 'til it became a deep black.  
  
--  
  
It was already early morning and Shinji could see the sun begin to rise in the horizon. When their EVAs' had powered down their entry plugs had been auto-ejected; but they still had a long wait before they were taken on a long elevator ride to the surface. It had been an exhausting night.  
Now the children sat on a bench in a park just outside NERV, Rei on his left and Asuka on his right. He wasn't sure when she had done it, but he was aware of Asuka leaning towards him - her left arm touching his back. Normally he would've been nervous, but somehow he wasn't now.. Maybe he was just too tired.  
He noticed Rei staring at them, her eyes still clear even though she showed visible signs of being as tired as he was.  
"Rei?" he asked, wondering what she was thinking about. He had been afraid she had died along with the rest of the clones at first when they had opened her entry plug - she had been unconsious. But due to some miracle she had been alright: exhausted but alright. However, that didn't prevent the fact that both her and Asuka had needed some level of medical attention. There had been wounds where the spear had struck their EVAs'.  
"I don't think I've ever seen Sohryu so affectionate to you before." Rei answered, making Shinji blush slightly.  
"Don't ruin the moment wondergirl. I might not let myself do this again in a long time.. so I just want to enjoy it while it lasts." Asuka said. Shinji contemplated her words and found that they didn't make much sense to him.. not that it mattered, as long as she was leaned against him it didn't matter. In an instant of bravery he managed to snake his arm around her shoulders and hold her lightly. He was amazed that she didn't protest - moreso over that she even seemed to like it.  
  
--  
  
Rei kept looking at the two other pilots; they seemed to be comfortable enough. Inside she felt empty.. lost.. mentally exhausted... cold.. She knew part of her had left.. leaving a hole where a purpose once had been. She considered Sohryus' words.. 'enjoy it while it lasts' she had said.. And surely the second child looked quite comfortable on the other side of the third.  
She slowly slid closer to Shinji and carefully mimiced Sohryus' actions, leaning onto the boy. He tensed in suprise at first but then seemed to relax. An arm came up and held her shoulder. She felt an odd shiver of warmth.. She closed her eyes, content with drifting off to sleep where she was.  
"You were right Sohryu.. it is comfortable.. just to enjoy the moment.." she said. She hadn't expected an answer and recieved none either.  
She felt.. comfortably warm. Soothed. Her normally cold walls nowhere to be found. Shinji had said they'd find a purpose for her. At the moment she wondered if it would ne necessary.. All that mattered now was how she felt.  
She smiled as a warm darkness began to envelop her.  
For once, sleep was more for Rei Ayanami than just resting.  
  
--  
  
Shinji sighed; a happy sigh. Rei was snuggled up towards his left side, her rythmical breathing telling him that she was probably asleep. Asuka was leaning to his right side in a simular position, drifting off herself.  
Shinji saw the sun in the distance, slowly raising to meet a new day. Misato had told him that now when the first and second angels were gone maybe there would be no more. He found comfort in that.. and even if it wasn't true he felt hopeful.. Like the sun didn't just rise to a new day, but a new begining.  
The evening had begun in a nightmare - his nightmare - but it seemed like from the depth of it a new hope had risen..like the morning sun. They were all alive.. and for the moment nothing else mattered.  
As he drifted off to sleep, some part of his mind tried to tell him that there would be school in a few hours; he ignored it.  
For once he lived just in the moment. Not a bother or care in the world.  
It didn't take much time before Shinji Ikari joined Asuka Langely Sohryu and Rei Ayanami in sleep, feeling happier than he had in a long time...  
  
----  
  
Heh. While it followed my original plot idea pretty closely, it didn't end up quite as I had thought. I'm still not sure if that's a good thing or not. I am aware of that some of the sections ended up in what I'd call utter crap.. while some others ended up somewhat better. (Dialogue seems like the one most suffering from being evil)  
I hope the last battle scene ended up being as dramatic as I wanted it to.. (I can't tell). I was listening to "Liberi Fatali" (the music playing during the intro movie of Final Fantasy 8) when I wrote it and sort of got hooked into handling it differently than I thought originally.. I hope the change was for the better.  
  
Oh well. I guess this peice will go to history as my first finished NGE fanfic.  
I hope it wasn't too bad.  
  
-Kompi 


End file.
